Chapter 15: Double Piece

I walked to the center of the room and examined the large puzzle.

The puzzle looked as though it was just about to be completed, with only two pieces left.

“We’re almost done if we just fit two more…”

I carefully examined the remaining two pieces of the puzzle.

One was a reddish piece, and the other was a blue piece.

Both pieces looked as though they would fit perfectly into the remaining spaces, but each hole looked slightly different.

Below, it was written in red letters:

[DO DOUBLE PIECE.]

“This is… a choice?”

I said, examining the puzzle.

Sia also came over and watched the puzzle.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this… It can’t be just a puzzle in this crazy space. There must be some hidden condition, right?”

“That’s possible. This space has always been full of traps.”

I looked back and forth at the two pieces.

The red piece seemed to exude a menacing heat.

When I put my hand near it, I felt a slight warmth.

On the other hand, the blue piece was emitting a cold energy.

“It might not be just about putting any of them in. One is advantageous to us, and the other one… looks like it could create a bigger problem.”

Sia crossed her arms and pondered.

“We don’t know what could happen if we stall. We should choose quickly.”

I took a deep breath, looking at the pieces back and forth.

‘What should I choose…?’

“Sia, what do you think?”

I asked.

Then, Sia thought for a moment and said.

“Doesn’t red usually mean warning, and blue means stability? Wouldn’t it be better to choose based on that?”

I nodded.

“Makes sense. But I’m not sure…”

I reached for the pieces to make a decision. At that moment, Sia grabbed my arm and asked.

“Wait. Two pieces, double piece? Oh.”

I frowned, looking at her.

“Is this the time for such a strange joke?”

But Sia didn’t look like she was joking; her face was serious.

She pointed to the red writing below.

“No, really. They wrote [DO DOUBLE PIECE]. If it just meant to fit two puzzle pieces, there’s no reason to write it like this, right? It feels like it’s intentional.”

I sighed and shook my head.

“Hey, if you’re thinking seriously right now… we might really be done for.”

She didn’t stop thinking.

“It’s a gamble. It’s free to try.”

She slowly raised both hands in a V-shape, making a confident expression.

“I’m really going crazy…”

I shook my head and, after a small sigh, raised both my hands in a V-shape, following Sia.

And at that moment——

BANG!

With a sudden noise, a door on one side of the room slowly opened.

I looked at Sia with a bewildered expression.

“Uh, this… it really works?”

Sia also opened her mouth in surprise.

“What, it really does?”

“Then what about this puzzle? Is it just a decoration?”

Sia, about to take a step towards the door, suddenly turned back to the puzzle.

“Still, it feels a bit unsettling. Should we try putting one in?”

“Uh, that sounds like a dangerous idea. The door has already opened, and it’s better to just go…”

I tried to stop her, but Sia couldn’t suppress her curiosity and picked up the blue piece, putting it into the puzzle’s empty space.

Click!

As one side of the puzzle was completed, a mechanical sound echoed from the wall.

I instantly felt a sense of discomfort.

“Sia, this…?”

KABOOM!

Suddenly, bizarre metal devices started popping out of the wall.

Each device looked like a massage machine, but their appearance and movements seemed excessively aggressive.

A small, round something was vibrating violently, moving back and forth with sharp rods, emitting a threatening aura.

On a chair where one person could sit, there were various restraints and something enormous was embedded.

Sia stared blankly at them and shouted.

“What is that?!”

Before I could shout back, I took a step back, yelling.

“Run!”

The machines suddenly moved and began to approach us.

I grabbed Sia’s hand and ran towards the open door.

“Ah, let’s get out of here!”

Sia came to her senses and ran after me.

The moment we got outside the door, the images of the machines trying to come out of the wall flashed past.

It was a close call.

If we were just a little late, we would have been caught, either sitting on that chair or bound to that round thing.

We closed the door and gasped for air.

Sia burst out laughing, saying.

“From now on, it’s better to just pass them by.”

I leaned against the wall and shook my head.

“I told you…”

“Sorry, I haven’t been to a room like the Hypnotic Room before. I’ve been in the same room for so long that my judgment is getting clouded.”

I looked up at her.

“But there was a harvest. We learned that the puzzle was a trap.”

Sia chuckled and replied.

“Wow, so the only correct answer was really to do that stupid double piece?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“Don’t you think so? Or…”

Sia tilted her head and asked.

“Or?”

I hesitated for a moment and answered.

“Or, it might have been possible to put both of those puzzle pieces and withstand those devices.”

Sia’s face contorted as if the thought was horrifying.

“Ugh. I don’t like that.”

“Me neither.”

Sia looked up at me and smiled slightly.

“Still, we passed a room this time, too. What’s waiting for us next?”

Instead of answering her question, I looked at the end of the corridor and started to move cautiously.

“Well, whatever it is, we should pass through it as quickly as possible.”

Sia came closer to me and grabbed my hand.

I was a little embarrassed but smiled and held her hand tightly.

It was warm.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

Opening the door at the end of the corridor revealed the inside of a large mansion.

The mansion had a familiar shape that I felt as though I’d seen somewhere before.

“This is…?”

I looked up at the ceiling and muttered blankly.

“It looks like I’ve seen this somewhere.”

“I think I have to say this.”

“Yeah.”

It was a familiar mansion.

An old game from a memory long gone.

2922

“The inside is cleaner than I thought.”

‘Ao Oni’ mansion.

February 2, 2025.

Day 1 at the Ao Oni mansion.

Today was really a continuous stream of chaos.

After barely escaping the Hypnotic Room with Sia, a ridiculous puzzle room was waiting for us.

In the center of the room, a puzzle just before completion and two remaining pieces.

A red piece and a blue piece. And under it, the strange phrase ‘DO DOUBLE PIECE’ was written.

At first, I thought it just meant to put the pieces together, but Sia delved into the meaning of the phrase.

In the end, following her suggestion, I made a V-shape with both hands and tried ‘DO DOUBLE PIECE’, and unbelievably, the door opened.

It was a truly ridiculous moment, but at the same time, I felt the malice of this space again.

The door opened, so we could have just passed, but Sia couldn’t resist her curiosity and put the blue piece into the puzzle.

The result was… the appearance of bizarre massage machines(?).

The devices that popped out of the wall moved aggressively, threatening us, and we barely escaped.

This place was a trap every moment, and we realized again that a moment’s curiosity could take our lives.

But there was a harvest.

We learned that we had to suspect every single phrase and act in this space.

Double piece, even now, it feels really stupid, but in the end, it was the correct answer.

It’s not an old man’s gag, but this old-fashioned wordplay.

Geez, it’s ridiculous.

Oh, and in the next room, a familiar-looking large mansion appeared.

Old and ominous, but in a familiar shape.

It was the mansion from the game ‘Ao Oni’.

Luckily, it’s a game I know, so it seems easy to escape.

It’ll take a little while, because of the amount of content.

Maybe.

α

Monster File: [DOUBLE PIECE]

Form: The room itself functions like a monster.

In the center of the room, there is a puzzle just before completion, and the remaining two pieces are reddish and blue.

The moment you put the puzzle together, bizarre devices seem to pop out of the room and start functioning aggressively.

Features: The biggest trap in this room is that the act of putting the puzzle together is a trap.

Of course, that’s not certain.

You might be able to escape by putting both pieces into the puzzle.

But, you have to survive the attack of those horrible metal devices.

Danger: The puzzle itself isn’t scary, but once you put in even one piece, various devices appear.

From a giant, um, thing-shaped chair… ugh, vibrator… what was it, ah. A vibrator? A giant restraint that looks like it’s attached… Ugh, do I have to write this detail in my diary?

Anyway, the movements of the devices are always fast and aggressive, and they don’t give you a chance to escape.

Weakness: If you interpret the writing correctly, you can escape the room without touching the puzzle.

Making a V-shape with both hands and executing ‘DO DOUBLE PIECE’ opens the door, and you can exit the room without a trap.

You don’t need to do ahe… whatchamacallit.

It is possible to escape quickly before the puzzle is completed and the trap is activated, but it is not recommended because of the high risk.